Me at 11 or 12. I’m not sure if my Hanson posters had expanded to cover the ceiling at this point, but they did eventually. My room is extraordinarily clean in the photo, believe it or not. Shout out to JTT in the corner.
And this one, with my friends, our beanie babies, and one of the Hanson shirts I still own (and wear).
We can also call this Thankful Thursday, because I am so thankful for braces and tweezers.
For the past month or so, our trees have been filled with birds. They come and go throughout the day. While they are perched in the branches, they are incredibly loud, then suddenly, creepily silent as they all fly away in a cloud. Sometimes the cats go crazy, most the time they barely notice, distracted by their naps and the need to lick themselves.
Speaking of birds and cats – earlier today a bird flew straight into the window of our house then fell (dead, most likely) in front of one of many stray (or outdoor or extra) cats that hang out in our backyard. He trotted off with the bird in his mouth. Must have thought it was his lucky day.
A year ago, I made the following resolutions. Some I’ve stuck to, some I haven’t. Most are still applicable for my goals for 2013.
- Write more. In 2012, I certainly didn’t blog more, but I did write quite a few papers for school and even started some fictional fun writing. Just rambles I don’t plan on showing anyone, but it’s enjoyable for me and I feel that these snippets of thought have helped improve my writing skills. I hope to improve, in quantity and quality, my academic writing and my personal writing in 2013.
- Read more. Well, graduate school has definitely increased my reading – articles, papers, text books, mostly. In between those, I read (I think) 14 books, not including re-reads or re-listens (some were audiobooks). This year, I doubt I’ll have time for as much pleasure reading, but I hope to keep better track of what I read and when I read it (via goodreads).
- Go back to school. Check! For 2013, I’m adjusting this goal to Continue to do well in school. In addition to classes, I’ll also be working as a research assistant starting next week, to which this goal also applies.
- Be healthy. This was going pretty well until school started. The combination of stress, Christmas cookies, and an abundance of cheap food and drink has derailed me a bit. I have, though, gotten in to the habit of actually taking my vitamins every day and drinking much more water. I’ve added new vegetables to the list of things I like and have a pretty well stocked arsenal of healthy meals. I plan on being one of the many to join a gym come January and have set the lofty goal of riding my bicycle to said gym a few times a week.
- Get & stay organized. I am so much more organized now than I have ever been before, but there is still room for (significant) improvement. We can’t put any major (read: screws) in our plaster walls, which has made my previous method for fabric organization useless. I am also lacking a bookshelf, so my school books/papers tend to end up living on the guess bed most of the time. Definitely going to try and fix that this year.
-Make and stick to a budget- Well. I started using Mint.com early last year, but as I was still waiting tables, I almost always spent cash, of which Mint wasn’t so helpful keeping track. In addition, I was working so much that I didn’t have time to spend the money I made and four jobs more than covered my expenses. Now that I have joined the world of the plastics (and grad students), Mint sends me smug emails noting that I’ve exceeded my budget for food or gas or hair care or cat food. This year, out of spite, I’m going to prove to Mint (and myself) that I can set and stick to a budget.
- Be more present. This goal was actually the hardest for me. Currently, within arms-length, I have my phone, iPod, Kindle, and, of course, my computer (with 22 tabs open). The television isn’t on, but it is in front of me and could tempt me with entertainment at any second. The possibilities for distraction are endless. I find that it is often hard for me to just focus on the moment. I find myself scrolling Facebook or Instagram on my phone while watching a movie with Benjamin, which isn’t fair to Benjamin (or the movie for that matter). I think about all the meals I’ve shared with friends, half the time spent on our phones. That’s silly and I have to get better about it. If I’m sitting down to a meal or a movie with a loved one, I should focus on them, not on what is happening on Twitter or Reddit. Disconnecting from all that is essential for connecting with each other. In 2013, I’m going to remember that.
What are your goals for 2013?
Originally, the title of this post was “Things I’m Currently Obsessed With”, but it’s nearing the end of the semester and I’ve been writing far too many academic papers to end a sentence with a preposition.
In two weeks, as deadlines approach far too quickly and my brain turns to mush, my posts will read more like “LOOK AT THIS CAT. THIS CAT. LOOK.” and “food tastes happy i like corn”. What I’m trying to say is, the past few months have been a blur. A stressful, surreal blur. But the following things are amazing.
We haven’t gotten our pumpkins yet (I know, I know – we didn’t make it to the pumpkin patch this year.), but I’m hoping to watch Hocus Pocus & carve a few tonight. Not sure how I’ll carve mine, but the stencil I made for the Hunger Games shirt tutorial works as a pumpkin stencil, too. What do your jack-o-lanterns look like?
The method I use for making stencils is from Stencilry, which has some really great stencils, but I don’t think the site has been updated recently.
